


the truth is just a rule that you can bend

by crookedspoon



Series: Exchange Fics [61]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, POV Jason Todd, Phone Calls & Telephones, Pre-Slash, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21622030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/crookedspoon
Summary: Intentionally missed calls that go unanswered.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Series: Exchange Fics [61]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/51139
Comments: 8
Kudos: 104
Collections: 300bpm Flash Exchange November 2019





	the truth is just a rule that you can bend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snowshus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowshus/gifts).



> A bit of a long shot perhaps, but this was inspired by "Black Sheep" by Metric where the title is also taken from.
> 
> Many thanks to stevieraebarnes for the beta!

Gotham's busy night sky becomes less crowded the farther you get from the city center. The day-bright streets darken gradually as fewer billboards and blinking signs illuminate them, until reaching a pitch black city block where Jason's latest safe house is located. Nothing moves here, except for the rats in the sewers and himself high above ground. Without his helmet’s night vision filters he wouldn't even be able to do that. All the windows here are dark and light pollution is no help. He idly wonders how much longer it's going to take Gotham's city council to shake loose some money for this neighborhood's restoration. Or if real estate tycoons will soon swoop in to gentrify this area, too.

Not all is pitch black, though, Jason finds when he returns.

In the darkness of his safe house, one tiny light is blinking steadily. It was off when he left, but Jason doesn't have to round the corner to know what it is. He always finds it on after nights like these. It's been a while since there has been a night like this; he's not entirely sure what he expected. Nothing, probably. He almost forgot about it, after all.

Jason strips off his weapons, cleans his guns and then himself. He prepares a cup of sencha while he's drying off. Jason flicks his lighter open and closed as he waits for it to brew.

Only when it's the right temperature does Jason walk over to the answering machine and press play. He knows what to expect. Dick follows the same underlying pattern, after all. Not much variety except in the anecdotes he peppers in to make these calls a little less repetitive.

 _"Hey, Jay. It's me,"_ Dick's voice comes from the speaker. A little crackly and distant, as though he were speaking through a wall. In fact, in might not even be recognizable as Dick's voice at all if Jason were any less accustomed to hearing him prattle on about nothing in particular. "I just wanted to say thanks for the assist today. I couldn't have done it without you. I mean, not as breezily, you know? And it was good to see you again, too. Alfie sends his regards. We haven't spoken, but I know he does. It's always the same with him." Here Dick attempts a posh British accent. _"'I heard Master Jason was with you today,' he'd say. 'I trust he is well.' And so on. You were always his favorite, did you know that? Something about how you never gave him any grief inside the manor and even helped him with some of his chores. He always thought you were 'a fine young gentleman.'"_ Dick does the weird voice again and chuckles to himself.

Jason takes a sip in the long silence that follows. He is not sure what to make of the information. A smug sense of satisfaction creeps over him to have confirmed something he's always known. It overshadows the twist of homesickness that's somewhere in there, too.

_"Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. More than, actually. Ring me up when you're in town. Or, you know, whatever. I know you're not going to. You're probably not even listening to this. I don't know why I keep calling. It's not like you ever answer. But I guess it's the uncertainty. As long as I don't know, it's like you're both listening and not. Schrödinger's phone call, heh. That makes it easier, you know, talking to you like this. Well, not like we ever really have the time for a heart to heart in the midst of battle."_

Another pause, another sip.

_"Phew, okay, I'll stop now. Thanks for always rewinding the tape, by the way. You know, if you're listening after all. And do come by the manor sometime. Alfie would love to see you. Bye."_

The machine beeps. There are no other new messages. There never are. This number isn't even listed anywhere. Sure, Dick can hack the phone company's records, but the real question is why he'd do that. Seems like a bit too much trouble to go through just to spam Jason with messages that go unanswered.

Dick doesn't have it quite right either. Jason doesn't rewind the tapes. He just turns it over or buys a new one and puts that in. It's a supremely retro feel. The old cassette tape, he saves. He has an entire rack of them by now, each labeled with the date of Dick's call. You never know when you're gonna need material for blackmail, and this is a goldmine. Even if they won't be useful for anything nefarious, they might cause Dick some embarrassment and that's enough for Jason.

Once his cup is empty, Jason carefully labels the tape with the date and time the machine said at the top and stores it with the rest.

In a way, Dick's tenacity is flattering. Not even Bruce tried all that hard to reach out to him. Which is probably for the better. Jason would just have thrown it back in his face. Not that he didn't want to do the same to Dick in the beginning. But his anger had been wrapped up in his issues with Bruce that telling Dick off didn't seem so important by comparison.

And now... these calls have become something of a routine. Something comfortably familiar. 

They've reached the point where something weirdly fond stirs inside Jason's chest; that in itself is a foreign feeling, but not altogether an unpleasant one. Worse, it makes Jason want to take Dick up on his invitation of hitting him up when he's in town, just to see if he meant what he said. Because he still thinks these Bats are hypocrites, even if they're trying to show him otherwise.

A part of Jason would like to be proven wrong. It's why he does this. It's why he listens.

It's why he palms his own phone, and not for the first time, contemplating whether or not to call Dick back, whether or not to clear up the mystery of his listenership. 

Because something about Dick's phone calls is getting through to him. He says he forgets about them since he doesn't team up with Dick often, but the truth is he doesn't want to set himself up for the disappointment that will settle in when Dick inevitably decides not to bother reaching out anymore.

Perhaps he should tell him to knock it off, as a way of taking the next step. Dick is likely not going to listen and redouble his efforts instead, knowing that his messages were received. Jason wouldn't mind hearing from Dick more often.


End file.
